Right, this might be a long review so ill split it up into pieces
DESIGN
The design feels super premium, and its lovely in my hand. My only major issue is the huge bezels on the side (a product of the reused design), which, in this current technological environment, feels a bit outdated. But this does save room for a physical home button equipped with Touch ID - which in this age of masks, I’m glad to have
The power button on the top is accompanied by a headphone jack. I personally don’t use it, but I know that this will be a huge plus for many people who don’t wish to jump into the (sometimes expensive) world of wireless
The bottom has dual speakers flanking a lightning port. Of course i wish for USB-C, but its Apple, and for those already using iPhones, this will likely be a plus not having to carry around another cable. The dual speakers on the bottom can easily be covered, and of course i wish there were a set on the top too like more expensive iPads, but the sound is still loud and punchy and clear
DISPLAY
The display is, frankly, fine
Obviously, its flanked by those ginormous bezels, but that isn’t a huge deal
The quality is good (not the best panel Ive laid my eyes on, but I do everything from work to media consumption, and never had any complaints about brightness or colour accuracy)
The one thing you may notice, if you decide to pick up an Apple Pencil with it, is some noticeable delay due to the (fairly typical) 60Hz refresh rate. You wont notice it when using your fingers, but you will with the pencil. It is by no means unusable, but you can see it
PERFORMANCE
The performance is also something where I don’t have any issues
The Chipset is quite old - it is the same A10 unit that was found in the iPhone 7, and i would have appreciated a slightly newer and recent chip, but it still manages to do everything i ask of it, including some pretty substantial gaming and photo editing, with no issues
BATTERY
The battery on this baby is superb
The combination of iOS’s great optimisation, along with the mammoth 8827 mAH battery inside this, makes it easily live up to the 10 hours quoted, even with quite heavy use, usually going further
Believe me, you wont have any issues here
Battery charging takes about, 4 hours from empty to full, by my estimation, with their included 12W charging brick
OPERATING SYSTEM
This runs Apple’s still relatively new iPadOS, which is iOS, optimised for the larger displays and productivity potential of the iPads.
As I said earlier, i use this as my full time work machine, having replaced my laptop for daily use. I paired this with the Logitech Combo Touch accessory, and it genuinely can be a laptop replacement for most
And obviously, because the OS is from Apple, you know its going to be easy to use for everyone
CONCLUSION
I honestly think this is a fantastic value for £400 for the 128GB model i picked up here
For that price, my negatives feel like nitpicks
If you want a tablet, and don’t need the super high end specs of the Pro series (which, lets be honest, you probably don’t), the normal iPads are a great buy
However, the new 2020 Air has a much sleeker and up to date design, quad speaker setup, and USB type C, so it may be worth taking a look at that if any of those are important things for you
Hope this was helpful :)
Compare Apple iPad products
| Price | From: - | From: - | From: - |
| Ratings | (7,004) | (2,029) | (430) |
| Display | 10.2‑inch Retina display | 10.5-inch Retina display | 11 inch Liquid Retina display with ProMotion technology and True Tone |
| Face/Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID | Face ID |
| Chip | A10 Fusion chip with 64-bit architecture, Embedded M10 coprocessor | A12 Bionic chip with 64 -bit architecture, Neural Engine, Embedded M12 coprocessor | A12X Bionic chip with 64-bit desktop-class architecture, Neural Engine |
| Camera | 8MP camera with HDR and 1080p HD video | 8MP camera with HDR and 1080p HD video | 12MP camera with Smart HDR and 4K video at 30 fps or 60 fps |
| Video | 1080p HD video recording | 4K video recording | 4K video recording |
| Apple Pencil Compatibility | Apple Pencil | Apple Pencil | Apple Pencil (2nd generation) |
| Smart Keyboard Compatibility | Compatible with Bluetooth keyboards | Compatible with Smart Keyboard and Bluetooth keyboards | Compatible with Smart Keyboard Folio and Bluetooth keyboards |
| Connector | Lightning connector | Lightning connector | USB-C connector |
Reviews with images
GREAT IPAD 10.5inch
Bought this as a gift for mom's birthday. I really wanted it etched from Apple but it seemed it would take too long, so I checked out Amazon and it was on sale...I got her one from amazon and she received it super fast with Amazon Prime. Thank you Amazon for being such a great place to buy things for family who live in other countries.
